Pioneer Times photograph/Joseph Cyr
LAYUP — Hodgdon’s Josh Hudson goes in for a layup past Houlton’s Kyle Bouchard during last Thursday’s game in Hodgdon.
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
HODGDON — A capacity crowd of just over 600 people crammed into Hodgdon High School’s gymnasium Thursday evening for a showdown between the Houlton and Hodgdon boys teams.
Hodgdon (5-0) overcame a sluggish first quarter that saw the Hawks fall behind 13-3 at the end of the period to pull off a thrilling 46-45 victory thanks to a buzzer-beating shot by Hawk Nick Lunn. After the shot fell, Hodgdon’s younger fans stormed the court in celebration.
“The final shot on the inbounds was designed for Nick (Lunn),” Hodgdon coach Rob Smith said. “We had a play drawn up to go long, but they took away the long ball. We had four other kids that could have taken the shot, but Nick created his own. With no timeouts left, it was up the kids to win the game.”
Lunn finished with a team-high 16 points, while Chris Hudson added 11; Josh Hudson, seven; Tyler Sherman, six; Devon Logie, four; and Matt Harmon, two.
For Houlton (1-3), Elyjah Crockett led all players with 20 points, while Nick Guiod added 10; Kyle Bouchard, 10; Dan Howe, three points and Dan Swallow, two.
“Crockett played very well on the offensive end,” Houlton coach Rob Moran said. “We need contributions from more people. Three guys doing (most of) the scoring won’t get it done.”
Houlton led 13-3 in the first quarter, 19-17 at halftime, but trailed 33-31 after three periods. Hodgdon made 11 of 14 foul shots (77 percent), while the Shires converted just six of 14 (43 percent) free throws.
“When we went in at the end of the game we talked about not giving up,” Coach Smith said. “Even when we were down, we battled back. Each person stepped up and did their job in the game, whether on the bench or on the floor. We talked about keeping our composure and playing until the final horn. We had some alumni come in and say a few words. Having the alumni come in and speak means a lot to these guys and me. In the end we talked about playing as one. I told them to enjoy it, have a Merry Christmas and to start looking forward to another big game next Thursday against GHCA.”
“The Hawks played well and kept their composure early when we jumped on them,” coach Moran said. “We need to do the same. We had too many turnovers and missed free throws. We have had a couple of tough losses in a row and just need to push to improve.”
Houlton dominated the early portion of the game as the Shires used their size advantage to work the ball inside to Crockett and Bouchard. Houlton scored the first 11 points of the game, as the Hawks were ice cold from the floor. Many of those points came via second and third scoring chances as the Shires controlled the offensive board.
Pioneer Times photograph/Joseph Cyr
JUMPER — Houlton’s Nick Guiod stops and shoots over Hodgdon defenders Josh Hudson and Tyler Sherman during last Friday’s game in Hodgdon. The Hawks won, 46-45.
“After we spotted the Shires 11 points, I had to use a timeout,” Smith said. “We were missing a lot of easy shots. We came in pumped up and it showed. Everything was long.”
During the timeout, Smith said he talked about “waking up and playing our game.”
The Hawks changed their defense and started to press.
“When we did that our intensity started to pick up and we started to play better defense,” he said.
Sherman finally got Hodgdon on the scoreboard making the second of two free throws with 1:07 to play in the first quarter.
The Hawks chipped away in the second quarter, outscoring Houlton 14-6 to pull within two at halftime.
During the intermission, coach Smith said he felt he needed to change things up if the Hawks wanted to come away with a victory.
“We talked about switching our defense and what we needed to do to control the paint,” coach Smith said. “The Shires were outrebounding us. We needed to make adjustments on the offense. I wanted them to space the floor and work more off the pick and roll. On the bench right before the third quarter started I told them we have to control the boards, get every rebound, every loose ball. We had to play intense basketball and good defense in the second half.”
With 1:30 to play, Houlton went up 41-39 on a nifty back-door pass from Bouchard to Crockett. The Hawks countered as Chris Hudson made the first of two free throws with 1:16 to play. On the missed second foul shot, Hawk Josh Hudson converted an offensive rebound to give Hodgdon a 42-41 lead with 1:05 to play.
Houlton’s Bouchard tied the game at 42 as he sank the second of two free throws with 56 seconds to play. Lunn countered with two foul shots of his own with 48 seconds remaining putting the Hawks up 44-42.
Following a Hodgdon timeout with 19 seconds to go, Houlton stole the inbounds pass and Howe launched a 3-pointer (his only shot in the game) from the left corner of the court that found the bottom of the net with 9 seconds to play giving Houlton a 45-44 lead.
With no timeouts left, Hodgdon’s Quinn Harris passed to Lunn who stumbled a bit, regained his composure and launched the final shot of the game that found nothing but net for the 46-45 win at the buzzer.
“I told my guys to keep their chin up and work to get better,” Moran said. “We are very young and I think our youth showed for sure.”
“This game was great,” Smith added. “Both teams left everything they had on the floor. Each school should be proud of their boys and their fans. I have never heard the gym so loud.”
